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Following is a question by the Hon David Li Kwok-po and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (November 10):
Question:
It was reported that in respect of properties valued at HK$12 million or above, mainland buyers accounted for 35% and 20% of the total transaction value in the primary and secondary markets respectively in the first half of 2010. Regarding mainland buyers' activities in the Hong Kong property market, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Government had collected data on mainland buyers' activities in the Hong Kong property market in the past three years;
(b) whether the projections on supply/demand in housing contained in the 2010-2011 Policy Address have incorporated interest of mainland individuals in the local property market; and
(c) whether the Government had conducted any study in the past three years to gauge the impact of the investments of mainland individuals in the local property market; if so, of any conclusion reached?
Reply:
President,
(a) There is no breakdown on the number of transactions by Mainland buyers in the Land Registry's (LR) record on local property transactions. This is because a flat buyer does not have to declare such information when registering the transactions with LR.
(b) The Government has set out a land provision target in the Policy Address to make available land for on average some 20 000 private residential flats per year in the next ten years. When coming up with the figure of 20 000, the Government has made reference to the average annual take up rate of first-hand private residential flats of 18 500 units in the past ten years (2000-2009). Also, over the same period, there were on average 20 000 first-hand private residential flats completed annually. The figure of 20 000 is only a land provision yardstick and not a fixed target for residential flat provision. The aim of the land provision target is to facilitate the building up of a sufficiently large land reserve over a period of time.
(c) As the centre for international finance and trade, Hong Kong attracts investments from all over the world. The Administration has not conducted any study on the impact on the property market arising from Mainland people purchasing properties in Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:44
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